Elastic belt



ELASTIC BELT Filed May 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS SUZANNEPOIRIER ISRAIL M. JUZENKA S. POIRIER ETAL July 17, 1956 ELASTIC BELT 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 21, 1954 INVENTORS SUZANNE POIRIER ISRAIL M.JUZENKA E gaww United States Patent M ELASTIC BELT Suzanne Poirier andIsrail Michel Juzenka, Liege, Belgium Application May 21, 1954, SerialNo. 431,512

Claims priority, application Belgium June 2, 1953 2 Claims. .(Cl. 2-43)The invention relates to elastic belts, and particularly to suspenderbelts, corsets, or surgical wear of a like nature, comprising an elasticpart constituting the back and the sides, and a panel of non-elasticmaterial constituting the front of the belt, a reinforced stripextending from one lateral edge of the front panel around the back tothe other lateral edge.

One of the greatest difficulties to be overcome in belts of the kindsdescribed, if they are to give complete satisfaction, is to provide anadequate support for, or restraining pressure, on the abdomen withoutcompressing the stomach.

A number of methods of construction have previously been proposed someof which do not provide suflicient support, while others compress thestomach thus causing inconvenience to the wearer. It is among theobjects of the present invention to avoid these undesirable elfects andto provide a belt which provides maximum possible comfort in wear.

To this end, in the belt according to the invention, there is provided areinforcement strip intended to be placed in an elastic belt, said beltbeing constituted by a front panel of non-elastic fabric connected atits side edges to a panel of elastic fabric constituting the back andsides of the belt, said reinforcement strip being constituted by anelastic fabric of generally trapezoidal shape, the lower edge of whichis a sinusoidal curve, and which is attached to the elastic part of thebelt so that the narrowest part of the reinforcement strip is in themiddle of the back at the waist of the belt, and as it extends towardsthe front of the belt increases gradually downwardly in height, thehighest part being joined to the side edges of the non-elastic frontpanel which allows flattening the abdomen by a traction independent ofthe belt proper.

In one construction according to the invention, the reinforced strip ispreferably secured on the inner surface of the said elastic part as bystitching along the waist-line of the belt.

An alternative and equally advantageous construction incorporates areinforced strip which is formed by an elastic piece of a strongerquality, but of less elasticity than the elastic part, the strip beinginserted to replace a cut-out portion of suitable shape in the elasticpart and secured thereto, preferably by stitching.

The invention is hereinafter described by way of example with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a belt according to the inventionarranged inside out to show the inner panels of the garment;

Figure 2 shows, outstretched, the shape of the reinforcing strip, and

Figure 3 is a modification of a belt according to Figure 1, only theupper part of the belt being shown.

The same reference numbers are used in all Figures to designate the sameor similar parts.

The belt illustrated in Figure 1 comprises an outer Patented July 17,1956 elastic part 1 constituting in known manner the back and the sidesof the belt. The said part 1 is made up from several panels of materialcut in an appropriate manner so that the assembled part follows thecontours of the body. The front 2 of the belt is a panel of wovenmaterial secured at the lateral edges of the elastic part 1. Reinforcingstrips 6 are provided in both the front panel and part 1.

A reinforcing strip 3 made of elastic material, which may be the same asthat employed for the part 1, is secured to the inner surface of thepart 1. The reinforcing panel 3 is delimited at the top by thewaist-line 4 of the belt, and is shaped substantially as illustrated inFigure 2, being stitched to the part 1 along the waistline 4. Amid-position of the back, the strip 3 has a relatively reduced width awhich may measure from 2 to 12 centimeters, the width increasinggradually from the middle of the back to the position at which it joinsthe lateral edges of the front panel 2. At the position at which itjoins the front panel 2, the width b, of the reinforcing panel may bebetween 12 and 25 centimeters.

The belt illustrated in Figure 1 may be stretchable above the waist aswell as in the back and at the front. The part 5 is comprised in theelastic part 1 above the waist-line 4 and is made from an ordinaryelastic material. Thus there are two thicknesses of elastic materialonly below the waist-line 4. As a result the belt provides greatersupport or tension in the area of the. abdomen than in the area of thestomach which is thus not uncomfortably compressed. Furthermore, sincethe part 5 can be more readily stretched than the area of thereinforcing strip 3, the construction provides that when the belt isworn by people who are a little stout, the formation of swelling orbulges does not occur above the belt. One of the objects of theinvention is thus achieved, that is to say, the belt serves to providecorrect support for the abdomen without compressing the stomach.

Figure 3 shows a modification in which the belt at mid-position of theback does not stretch above the waist. As a result the part 5 is reducedin size and exists only at each side of the belt near the panel 2. Inthis alternative construction also the reinforcing strip 3 is delimitedby the waist-line 4 so that uncomfortable and undesirable compression ofthe stomach is avoided.

In the two constructions illustrated, the reinforcing strip 3 is notinterrupted in the middle of the back so that the back portion of thepanel does not stretch too much under the effect of the tension exertedon it whilst supporting the abdomen.

Furthermore, the belts may be constructed so as to include an unbackedreinforcing strip 3, of the shape illustrated in Figure 2, which is madefrom an elastic material of stronger quality, that is to say, materialof inferior elasticity, than that from which the elastic part 1 isformed. For this purpose the back and side parts of the outer part 1 arereduced in width and altered in shape to conform along the top edge withthe shape of the reinforcing strip 3, which is then secured as bystitching directly on to the lateral edges of the front panel 2 and tothe upper edges of the elastic portion 1. In this construction, in whichthe reinforced zone of the belt is not double, the reinforcementobtained results from the quality of the material used to form the strip3 of the garment.

It is to be understood that the invention is by no means limited to theconstruction hereinbefore described, and that it is possible stillfurther to modify these constructions within the scope of the claimshereunder. Thus for example the reinforcing strip 3 may be provided onthe external surface of the part 1, or the reinforcing strip 3, which isillustrated in Figure 2 as being made in one piece, may be made byjoining two or more pieces of material by a seam or seams inmid-position of the back, as by stitching.

We claim:

1. In an elastic belt comprised of a front panel of non-elastic fabricand a panel of elastic fabric constituting the back and sides of thebelt, the side edges of the panels being attached, that improvementcomprising a reinforcement strip of elastic fabric having a generallytrapezoidal shape, the lower edge of which is in the form of asinusoidal curve, said strip attached to the elastic fabric of said beltwith the narrowest part of said strip at the middle of the back at theWaist of the belt and as it extends towards the front of the beltincreases gradually downwardly in height, the highest part being joinedto the side edges of the non-elastic front panel, which allowsflattening the abdomen by a traction independent of the belt proper.

2. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 in which the panel of elasticfabric has an opening therein with the same shape as said reinforcementstrip and said strip is attached to the elastic fabric along the edgesof said opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

